Cooking apparatus



Feb. 26, 1963 c. E. COMPTON 3,079,208

COOKING APPARATUS Original Filed Feb. 12, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR'.

CHARLES E.COMPTON Y WWI-M 47 ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 26, 1963 c. E. COMPTON cooxmc APPARATUS :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled Feb. 12, 1957 FIG. 4

FIG. 3

INVENTOK CHARLES acom rou BY W W ATTORNEYS:

Feb. 26, 1963 c. E. COMPTON cooxINc APPARATUS s Sheets-Sheet 3 OriginalFiled Feb. 12, 1957 2 N B 5 R o M E a a z m a 0 w a, w v B M O 0 8 E z mm S l m N 5 3 M 4% a O J M C f f 6 I1 I. N q 3; 7. Y 9 i i B 6 \BH n aQ, s 3 I. H m l -w 3 n II. F "M 3 U U "flu" Ilk G r c. H Ir... 2 V g E 4a. 3 n u n if? n l v 7/ a K I u n ,7 N, "Z, 0, -22, r o i 1 a a Q a a 43 United States Patent 3,il7,2l8 CGOKING APPARATUS Charles EdwardCompton, Bridgeport, W. Va. (R0. Box 1946, Qlarksburg, W. Va.)

Original application Feb. 12, 3957, Ser. No. 639,652, now Patent No.2,946,275, dated Italy 25, 19nd. Divided and this application Mar. 9,195% Ser. No. 798,210

2 Claims. (Cl. 312-315) This invention relates to cooking apparatus andpar ticularly to cooking apparatus of the so-called charcoal broilertype in which food is supported in proximity to a mass of glowingcharcoal or similar heat source for broiling. This application is adivision of my copending application Serial No. 639,652, filed February12, 1957, now Patent No. 2,946,275, issued July 26, 1960.

have devised cooking apparatus of the above mentioned type which isexemplified by the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings as aportable unit adaptable for both indoor and outdoor use which is lightin weight, low in cost and easily transportable and adapted to becarried in the trunk of an automobile on picnics and other outings.

I prefer to provide for orienting the food being cooked generallyvertically in position beside or in horizontal relation to the heatsource or heating means rather than there-above and so that thehorizontal distance between the food being cooked and the heat source iseasily and rapidly adjustable. Various charcoal broilers have heretoforebeen proposed in which the food being broiled is oriented generallyvertically, and provision has been made for altering the horizontaldistance between the food and the mass of glowing charcoal. I haveimproved on cooking apparatus of that type by providing extremelysimple, light weight, inexpensive cooking apparatus in which both thefood being cooked and the heating means may easily be inserted andremoved and relatively shifted. Among other things I provide a novelholder for use in cooking apparatus, novel features of the holder beingapplicable to both a holder for a mass of glowing charcoal or similarheat source, which may be termed broadly heating means, and the foodholding means. Additional features of novelty and utility inhere in thefood holding means. Still further features of novelty and utility areincorporated in the unit generally, the means for supporting the holdersand the means for closing openings in the unit for draft control,certain of such means also providing for cooking atop the mass ofglowing charcoal or maintaining Warm food which has previously beencooked. Provision is made for making two cooking units out of my cookingapparatus. Thus there are a substantial number of improvement featuresin my cooking apparatus. Certain of such improvement features areclaimed in my above mentioned copending or parent application.

I provide cooking apparatus comprising means forming an open-toppedchamber, means for supporting at least largely within the chamberheating means and food holding means, a generally horizontal guideway atthe top of e chamber and closure means operable in the guideway .forclosing the opening in the top of the chamber to a desired extent. Theclosure means are preferably in pan form to receive food to be cooked orkept warm by the heating means in the chamber. Desirably the closuremeans may comprise two pans adapted collectively to close the opening inthe top of the chamber when disposed in operative position.

I further provide cooking apparatus comprising means forming a chamberhaving an opening, a projection extending generally inwardly of thechamber at an edge of the opening, a closure member for the openinghaving an edge adjacent said edge of the opening and having an extensionprojecting generally inwardly of the charnher and curving about thefirst mentioned extension serving in the nature of a hinge to mount theclosure memher for movement between open end closed positions. Ipreferably also provide additional guide means extending between thefirst mentioned means and the closure members guiding the closure memberin an arcuate path upon movement between open and closed positions.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of a present preferred embodimentthereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a present preferred embodimentof the invention in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of cookingapparatus;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of thecooking apparatus shown in FlG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of a portion of theapparatus showing the mounting of a door, the door being in openposition;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the door in closedposition; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded vertical cross sectional view through thecooking apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown cookingapparatus comprising a cooking unit A and a supporting unit B. The twounits are entirely separate and may be handled individually, being lightin weight (preferably made largely of light weight stainless steel) anddesirably of such size that they may be carried side by side in thetrunk of an automobile, but when the apparatus is to be used for cookingthe unit A is desirably mounted upon the unit B. Such mounting makes thecooking apparatus readily portable as the unit B is provided withcasters 2 upon which the apparatus may be rolled about from one place toanother. Also the mounting of the unit A atop the unit B positions theunit A at the proper elevation for convenient cooking.

Each of the units A and B is of generally cubical shape and is hollow.The unit A has at its bottom a peripheral flange 3 adapted when it isset down on the unit B to surround the upper periphery of the unit B toposition the unit A on the unit B. The unit B is closed at the sides andback and open at the top. it has a front opening which is adapted to belargely closed by a door 4. The door 4 is movable between open andclosed positions about a novel connection with the body of the unit B.The door 4 is shown in FEGURE 5 in partially open position in solidlines and in closed position in dotted lines. In FIGURE 1 it is shown inclosed position in solid lines and in partially open position in dottedlines.

The connection between the door 4 and the body of the unit B is shown inFIGURE 5 and to larger scale in FIG- URES 3 and 4. At the bottom of thedoor opening the unit B has a generally inwardly projecting flange 5.The bottom of the door has a flange 6 which when the door is closedseats atop the flange 5 as shown in FIGURE 4. Connected with the flange6, as, for example, by spot Welding, is a guide member designatedgenerally by reference numeral 7. The guide member '7 comprises anarcuate body 8 terminating at one end in a relatively long flange 9 andterminating at the other end in a relatively shortflange 10. The guidemember 7 is preferably conected with the flange 6 by spot weldingthrough the flanges 9 and 6. Thus the guide member 7 becomes to allintents and purposes an integral part of the door 4. When the door isbeing opened the extremity of the flange 5 cooperates with the concaveface of the arcuate body 8 of the guide member 7 to restrain the dooragainst outward movement. Portions of the door lie opposite The extentto which the door may be opened is-limited by the flange it) whichengages against the under face of the flange as shown in FIGURE 3.

, Connected with the door 4 adjacent each lateral edge thereof is acurved rod 12. Each of the curved rods 12 is rigidly fastened to thedoor, as by inner and outer nuts 13 and 14 threaded onto the end of therod and drawn up tightly against the inner and outer surfacesrespectively of the door. The outer nuts 14 are shown as cap nuts. Eachrod 12 is formed in the shape of a circle arc and has a foot -15 at itsinner end. Each rod 12 passes through an opening of such size as tosnugly but slidably receive it in .the front flange ll of thecorresponding sidewall of the unit B. The rods 12- constituteadditionalguide meansextending between thebody of the unit B and the door 4guiding the door in an arcuate or generally pivotal path when movingbetween open and closed positions. Thefeet 15 of the rods 12 limit theextent to which the door 4 may open as they engage the inner faces ofthe front flanges 11 of the side walls of the unit B. Thus both the feet15 and the flange iii limit the extent of opening of the door and theparts are preferably so designed that the feet 15 and the flange willbecome operative at the same time to limit the opening of the door.

T he guide member 7 may extend along any desired part of the, bottom ofthe door or a plurality of such guide members spaced apart along thebottom of the door, may be employed. In either case the door is guidedfor quasipivotal movement between open and closed positions as describedabove. The connection of the door to the body of the unit B isespecially adaptable for utilization in a heat zone as heat will notadversely affect the connection. No piutle or close fitting bearing isutilized and there is no part requiring lubrication. Moreover theconnection is of very low cost as compared with. a conventional hingedconnection.

The unit B in addition to serving as a support for the unit A alsoconstitutes a container for food, utensils, etc, and in addition may,when the bottom closure of the unit A is open as will presently bedescribed, be utilized to control the draft through the cookingapparatus. The door a may substantially completely close the front ofthe unit B if desired or a small opening 16 may be provided between thetop of the door and the bottom of a transverse member .17 extendingacross the front of the unit B adjacent the top thereof. For reasonswhich will presently appear I prefer to provide the opening 16 as thatopening has utility in use of the unit B. An opening 18 is provided inthe bottom of the unit B, which opening may extend across the greaterportion of the .width of the unit B and may be bounded at the front andback by flanges 19. A removable bottom 20 is provided for the unit Bwhich rests upon the flanges 19, and itself has a downwardly extendingperipheral flange 21. This construction is. economical and also makespossible removal of the bottom 20 for cleaning. A handle 22 is spotwelded to the front of the door 4 for opening and closing the door.

The transverse member 17 has a forwardly projecting flange 23, and a rod24 is provided in the upper portion of the unit B adjacent the rearthereof for a purpose to be presently described. The flange 2.3, rod 24and space 16 cooperatein a manner which will be explained.

The rod 24 may extend through the side walls of the uni-tB. and may havecap nuts 24:: applied thereto outside the side walls.

The unit A is closed at the sides and back and open at the top. It has afront opening which is adapted to be largely closed by a door 25. Thedoor 25 is movable between open and closed positions about a connectionwhich may be the same as the connection above described between the door4 and the body of the unit B. The unit A has at its upper portion acrossthe front a member '26 having at its bottom an outwardly projectingflange 27 spacedabove the top of the door 25 when closed to provide anopening 28 analogous to the opening 16. The; door 25 is shown fully openin solid lines in FIGURES) l and 5 and closed in dotted lines in FIGURE3.; I

The sides and back of the unit A are of double thickness sheet metal,preferably stainless steel, with ins'rflating material 29 therein. A rod30 extends across he unit A near the top thereof and adjacent the backwaif and may be applied in the same wayas the rod 24 isapplied to theunitB as explained above. The rod 39, the flange 2'7 and the opening 28of unit correspond in position and function to the rod 24, flange 23 andopening 16 of unit B and in each case are forthe purpose of supportingholders presently to be described} The holders are in two categories,food holders and fuel holders which are otherwise referred to herein asheat-,: ing means. The holders are adapted to be supported either by therod 34} and the flange 27 with their handles} projecting through theopening ZSor by the rod 24 andthe flange 23 with their handlesprojecting through the opening 16. When the holders are supported in theunit A it is ordinarily-for the purpose of cooking and when they aresupported inthe unit B it is ordinarily for the purpose of storagealthough the unit B may be used for keeping warm in one or more foodholders food which has been cooked in the unit A, or, indeed, cookingmay be performed in unit Bjust as in unit A if desired. In that case thebottom 20 would probably be removed from the unit B and provision madefor draft extending .up from the top ofunit B through unit A by openingthe closure 31 at the bottom of unit A. The closure 31 is in the form ofa slidable drawer having 'a handle 32 and acts to catch any ashes fromthe heating means in unit A. If cooking is to be done in unit B whileunit A is disposed atop unit B the bottom closure '31 of unit A will'probably be removed entirely, as Wlll the bottom 20, and the draft maybe controlled by the doors 4' and 25 and by the pans 33 presently to bedescribed. lndeed unit B alone can be used for QOQ .even without unit Aor the unitsmay be P a s by side on a suitable support and cooki g m ben simultaneously in both of them. cookingi d 9. simultaneously in bothunits when unit A is 31590563 atop unit B by following the directionsgiven above'. There may be any desired number of fuel holders and anydesired number of holders for food to be cooked. One fuel holder and onefood holder will be described. The fuel holder may consist of agenerally vertically arranged metal basket for containing a mass ofglowing charcoal or other fuel. The basket may have a solid bottom 34,solid ends 35 and foraminous sides 36. The bottom and ends of the fuelholder are shown'as being made of steel of sufficient gauge to have therequisite strength, each thereof being of channel cross section withflanges 37 facing inwardly. The sides-are shown as being made ofexpanded steel and a generally U-shaped top member 38 extends along thetop of each side, embracing the top and also embracing the upper ends ofthe corresponding flanges of the ends 35. The bottom, ends, sides andtop members are all welded together to form a strong fuel holder orbasket having. openings at the .sides and top for draft. The fuel holderhas a handle 39 which may consist of a generally U-shaped steel rod theends of Which pass through openings in the front end of the fuel holderand are peened over inside and also welded to the front end of the fuelholder. Welded to the handle is a hook 49 which extends upwardly fromthe handle and then toward the body of the fuel holder as shown in thedrawings so that the hook 40 is open in a generally horizontal directiontoward the body of the fuel holder.

Welded to the rear end of the fuel holder (the end opposite the end towhich the handle is attached) is a bracket 41 having at its outerextremity a downwardly project-- ing flange 42. The bracket 42 in effectconstitutes a hook which is open downwardly.

When the fuel holder or heating means is to be introduced into thechamber of the unit A it is held in the hand by the handle 39 with thehandle generally horizontal but with the rear end of the fuel holder(the end to which the bracket 41 is applied) slightly uptilted, and withthe door 25 open the fuel holder is introduced through the front of theunit A by generally horizontal movement into position with the bracket41 above the rod 30 until the hook 40 receives the flange 27. Then therear end of the fuel holder is lowered until the bracket .1 rests uponthe rod 30. Thus the fuel holder is easily insertable into the unit Ainto position in which it is held suspended or hung by means of the hook4t and the bracket 41 upon the flange 27 and the rod The fuel holder maybe moved laterally or along the flange 27 and rod 353 without disturbingits support upon that flange and rod. When the fuel holder is to beremoved from the unit A it is slightly tilted to raise the rear endthereof until the flange 4-2 of the bracket 41 rises above the level ofthe rod 3%) whereupon the fuel holder is drawn out through the front ofthe unit, disen' gaging the hook it) from the flange 27. The fuel holdermay be similarly introduced into and removed from the unit B wherein itis supported by the flange 23 and the rod 24. When the fuel holder is inplace in the unit A its handle 39 projects out through the opening 28and while when it is in place in the unit B its handle projects outthrough the opening 16. The door 25 of the unit A and the door 4 of theunit B may be closed with a fuel holder in place in the correspondingunit thus effectively closing the front of the unit except for the comparatively narrow opening 28 or 16 as the case may be.

A food holder comprises opposed generally upright side members 43 and44. The side member 43 comprises a top rod 45 formed as a handle 46 atits outer end and downwardly extending end members 47 each having ahorizontally turned foot 48 at its bottom, the feet 48 being connectedby a longitudinal rod 4h. A series of L-shaped members 59 are welded attheir upper ends to the top rod 45 and at the extremities of their feetto the longitudinal rod 49. Adjacent each end of the side member 43 aseries of short rods 51 are provided which are parallel to the rod 4-9and Welded between two adjacent rods 56 to form positioning means for apurpose to be presently described. Welded to the handle 46 is a hook 52analogous to the hook dd above described and for the same purpose.Welded to the side member 43 adjacent its rear end is a bracket 53analogous to the bracket 43. and for the same purpose.

The side member 4a comprises a top rod 54 formed as a handle 55 at itsouter end and downwardly extending end members 56 each joined at theirbottoms by a longitudinal rod 57. Adjacent each end of the side member44 one of the rods 5b projects downwardly beyond the rod 44 and has afoot 5? forming a hook adapted to engage With one of the rods 51 or therod 4i of the side member 43 as may be appropriate for the thickness ofthe food to be cooked. Welded to the handle 55 is a hook 6 analogous tothe books 4% and 52 above described and for the same purpose. Welded tothe side member 44 adjacent its rear end is a bracket 61 analogous tothe brackets 41 and 53 and for the same purpose.

As above indicated the hooks 59 are engaged with a selected one of therods 51 or 49 depending upon the thickness of the food to be cooked sothat the food is maintained properly in position between the sidemembers 43 and 44 during cooking. If, for example, a steak is to bebroiled and the steak is relatively thin the feet 5h will be engagedbehind the left-hand rod 51 viewing FIGURE 2. If the steak is of mediumthickness the hooks 59 will be engaged behind the right-hand rod 51 asshown in FIGURE 2. If the steak is very thick the hooks 59 will beengaged behind the rod 49. The steak or other food to be cookedpreferably does not project above the tops of the side members 43 and44. Pivoted to the top rod 45 of the side member 43 adjacent therespective ends of the side member 43 are latch members 62 each having aplurality of slots 63 to receive the top rod 54 of the side member 44,the one of the slots 63 receiving the top rod 54 depending upon thethickness of the steak or other food to be cooked.

I provide a drip pan adapted to be carried by the food holder at thelower portion thereof to receive drippings from food being cooked in thefood holder, the drip pan in effect forming a unit with the food holderso as to be removable from and returnable to the cooking chamber withthe food holder. The drip pan is made of suitable metal and is long andnarrow, having a bottom 64, ends 65 and sides 66. The ends and sides arepreferably inclined upwardly and outwardly away from the bottom as shownin the drawings. Each end of the drip pan carries an inwardly facinghook 67 whereby the drip pan is adapted to be mounted on the feet 48 ofthe end members 47 of the side member 43 as shown. The drip pan may beremoved by relative lateral movement between it and the side member 43accompanied by a slight relative tilting. The drip pan remains firmly inplace in use of the cooking apparatus and catches the drippings from thefood being cooked. The drip pan carried by the food holder is of greatadvantage in that substantially all drippings are received by the drippan and a general cleaning up of the cooking apparatus due touncontrolled drippings from the food being cooked as is required withconventional apparatus is not necessary.

The front member 26 extends above the tops of the side walls of the unitA and is inwardly turned or flanged at its upper extremity at 68 asshown. An angle member 69 is welded atop the unit A generally under theflange 68 to provide cooperatively with the flange an inwardly facingguiding channel. At the back of the unit A is a flange 7d opposite tothe flange 68, and an angle member 71 analogous to the angle member 69and similarly positioned is also provided. The flange 7t) and anglemember 71 form a guiding channel facing toward the guiding channelformed by the flange 63 and the angle member 69. In the structure shownin the drawings the angle member 71 is shown as being integral with theback wall of the unit A while the angle member 69 is shown as beingseparate from the member 26. The angle members 69 and 71 and the flanges63 and 79 form together a track to receive slidable closure means forthe top of unit A. While such closure means may take various forms Ihave shown them as in the form of two pans 33 (FIGURE 1). The pans mayhe slid along the tracks to substantially fully close the unit A at thetop, or they may be variously positioned to provide for a desired draft.The pans are shown in FIGURE 1 at substantially their extreme outerpositions providing for full draft through the unit A. The pans may becompletely removed if desired. In addition to being closure members theymay be used for keeping warm food Which has been cooked or indeed forcock ing food directly over the heating means. Food may be cooked at thesame time within the unit A as shown in FIGURE 1 and also in the pans 33when positioned over the heating means.

At each side of the unit A adjacent the top thereof is a handle 72, thehandles being provided to facilitate handling of unit A. Similar handlesmay be provided for unit B if desired although not shown in thedrawings.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of theinvention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is notlimited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scopeof the following claims.

I claim:

1. A container comprising means forming a chamber having an opening, aprojection extending generallyhorizontally inwardly of the chamber at anedge of the opening, a closure member for the opening having an edgeadjacent said edge of the opening and having an extension projectinggenerally inwardly of the chamber and curving about the projectionserving in the nature of a hinge without a hinge pin or pintle to mountthe closure member for movement between open and closed positions, theend of the extension being hook-shaped to engage the projection andbearing upwardly against the under face of the projection when theclosure member is in open position whereby the extension by itsengagement with the projection alone limits opening movement of theclosure member.

,2. A container comprising means forming a chamber having an opening, aprojection extending generally horizontally inwardly of the chamber atan edge of the opening, a'closure member for the opening having an edgeadjacent said edge of theopening and having an extension projectinggenerally inwardly of the chamber and curving about the projectionserving in the nature of a hinge without a hinge pin or pintle to mountthe closure member for movement between open and closed -.e.. raaeeReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,964,388 Scruggs June 10, 1913 2,409,528 Baunach Oct. 15, 19462,561,358 Gipple July 24, 1951 2,727,505 Hood Dec. 20, 1955 2,812,415Markowitz Nov. 5, 1957 2,885,724 Anderson May 12, 1959 2,946,275 ComptonJuly 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 135,974 Australia Dec. 27, 1933

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING MEANS FORMING A CHAMBER HAVING AN OPENING, APROJECTION EXTENDING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY INWARDLY OF THE CHAMBER ATAN EDGE OF THE OPENING, A CLOSURE MEMBER FOR THE OPENING HAVING AN EDGEADJACENT SAID EDGE OF THE OPENING AND HAVING AN EXTENSION PROJECTINGGENERALLY INWARDLY OF THE CHAMBER AND CURVING ABOUT THE PROJECTIONSERVING IN THE NATURE OF A HINGE WITHOUT A HINGE PIN OR PINTLE TO MOUNTTHE CLOSURE MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, THEEND OF THE EXTENSION BEING HOOK-SHAPED TO ENGAGE THE PROJECTION ANDBEARING UPWARDLY AGAINST THE UNDER FACE OF THE PROJECTION WHEN THECLOSURE MEMBER IS IN OPEN POSITION WHEREBY THE EXTENSION BY ITS ENGAGE-